Getting a medical certificate

Only a registered doctor can certify the cause of death. This is usually the GP or doctor who has verified death. They will complete a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) if the death was expected and they are sure of the cause(s). 

In an emergency period, there may be a relaxation of previous legislation concerning the completion of the medical certificate cause of death by medical practitioners.

In all cases, it would be advisable to contact the Surgery where the deceased was a patient or contact the hospital bereavement office who will advise regarding the certificate being scanned and issued to the required Register Office.

Sometimes they will verify and certify the death at the same time, but if a different healthcare professional verifies death in the home you may have to go to the surgery the next day. If the person dies in hospital or a hospice you may also find you have to go back to the hospital or hospice to collect the medical certificate the next day.

In the emergency period, it is not necessary for the next of kin to attend the surgery or hospital to collect the medical certificate cause of death.

In the emergency period, the registrar will accept a scanned (or photographed) and emailed copy of the completed MCCD. The email must be sent from a secure email address (for example NHS.net) to a secure email address (for example .GOV.UK). If the MCCD is scanned and emailed the original signed form should be securely retained and delivered to the registrar as soon as possible which should be by the surgery or hospital responsible for issuing the certificate.

If the person’s regular GP hasn’t seen the person within 28 days of death and/or isn’t available to verify death, or there are questions about the cause of death, the death may need to be reported to the coroner. The coroner may then decide whether a post-mortem is needed. The death may also be reported if the person died from an industrial disease (an illness that has arisen because of their work) and this may result in an investigation, called ‘an inquest’, to find out the cause of death.

In an emergency period, any doctor can complete the MCCD, when it is impractical for the attending doctor to do so. This may, for example, be when the attending doctor is self-isolating, unwell, or has pressure to attend patients. In these circumstances, it may be practical to allow a medical examiner or recently retired doctor returning to work to complete the MCCD.

In general practice, more than one GP may have been involved in the patient’s care and so be able to certify the death. In the emergency period, the same provisions to enable any doctor to certify the death prevail in general practice.

If a post-mortem is needed this will be carried out by a pathologist, a doctor working for the coroner’s office. Once the cause of death has been established by the pathologist the coroner will issue the medical certificate directly to the local registration service and you will not need to collect it yourself.

If the cause of death is clear or expected, or the person has been seen by a registered doctor within 28 days of their death, and this can include a video call consultation, then a post-mortem is usually not needed.